Well folks it all starts tonight. We are less than 48 hours away from the reveal of the four teams that will be in this season’s College Football Playoff. Some teams are only one victory away, while others are hoping for an upset or two to clear a path to a playoff spot. Conference titles and those coveted playoff berths will be on the line this weekend, and today I’ll be looking at the Power Five conference championship games. Some will undoubtedly mean more than others with three games having a direct impact on college football’s Selection Sunday so let’s jump right into those games.

Pac-12 Championship – #8 Colorado vs. #4 Washington, Friday, 9:00 PM (FOX)

This game carries a ton of intrigue especially given the Huskies loss to USC three weeks ago. Washington has been one of the surprises of the season going from a dark horse playoff contender to being potentially one win away from a playoff bid. Colorado has seemingly come out of nowhere to bring themselves into the top-ten and a shot at the Pac-12 title.

Both teams play phenomenal defense, each average less than 20 points allowed per game. So the story here will be which offense can gain the upper hand on the opposing defense. The answer most experts are willing to offer is not a surprising one. Washington is the overwhelming favorite in this game despite facing a top-ten opponent.

The Huskies have been near impossible to stop on offense all season due in large part to the play of sophomore quarterback Jake Browning. He has been incredible this season throwing for over 3,000 yards, 40 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 65 percent of his passes. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be a Heisman finalist this season, but he will be one of the favorites for the award next season for sure.

Game Pick: Washington     ATS Pick: Washington (-8.5)

 

ACC Championship – #23 Virginia Tech vs. #3 Clemson, Saturday, 8:00 PM (ABC)

Clemson has been a near lock to be in contention for the playoff all year while Virginia Tech survived the grinder in the ACC Coastal division to make it here. Now if you asked me which of the conference title games would produce an upset, I might lean towards this game.

The Tigers is the heavy favorite in this game, but they have flirted with disaster all season. This is not the same team that rolled through the ACC a year ago despite having Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson back in the fold this year. Consistency has been an issue all year for Clemson even with all of the talent on this team.

So the question is, will the upset happen? Probably not, Clemson is the better team in this game and if there is one thing that has been a constant for the Tigers is that they get up for the big games. They certainly cannot afford to play down to the competition. Watson will have to be at his best in this game. I also don’t see how the Hokies can stop receiver Mike Williams, who is playing his way to being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft in a few months should he chose to leave school.

The experts are expecting a shootout, which bodes well for the Tigers, who have a ton of firepower on this offense.

Game Pick: Clemson           ATS Pick: Virginia Tech (+10)

 

Big Ten Championship – #6 Wisconsin vs. #7 Penn State, Saturday, 8:00 PM (FOX)

This is the game that has all of the national attention this weekend. The winner could play spoiler to another conference champion’s playoff hopes. Penn State is the darling of all the experts right now following its shocking upset of Ohio State back in October. They are arguably the hottest team in the country right now and probably have the best chance of these two teams of jumping into the playoffs with a win.

The key matchup of this game is the red-hot offense of Penn State going against the imposing Wisconsin defense. The Badgers allow an impressive 13.7 points per game this season while the Nittany Lions are putting up 36.6 points per game on offense (over 40 points per game in its last five games). It should be a compelling matchup of strengths in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Penn State boasts one of the nation’s best running backs in sophomore Saquon Barkley. He is in the midst of an impressive season, rushing for 1,219 yards and a gaudy 15 touchdowns in 2016. He will be the focal point of the Wisconsin defense in this game, and these Badgers have proved tough to score points against. The Badgers have only allowed seven rushing touchdowns all season.

An interesting note is the status of Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who sustained a head injury last week against Minnesota. He remains questionable for Saturday, which would leave Bart Houston at the helm of this offense. That may not be a big issue since Wisconsin has used both QBs during the last six games, although Hornibrook has been the better of the two.

Game Pick: Penn State            ATS Pick: Penn State (+3)

 

#10 Oklahoma State @ #9 Oklahoma – Saturday, 12:30 PM (FOX)

The latest edition of the rivalry known as Bedlam will determine the champion of the Big 12 conference. Unfortunately for both teams, that is likely all it will determine considering the committee dropped Oklahoma down to #9 in the latest rankings. It might deflate the excitement factor for the game, but these teams will still put on one hell of a show in Norman. Both teams have extremely potent offenses and don’t exactly play what we call “defense.”

With each team capable of putting up 40 points there will be a lot of focus on the offenses. The player to watch here is Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield. Before the season he was one of the favorites for the Heisman trophy, and while he won’t make it to New York City this season, he has had a great year leading the Oklahoma offense. He can throw the ball around the field with ease, but his most dangerous attribute is his playmaking ability outside the pocket. Mayfield will be a problem for the Cowboys all day long.

Game Pick: Oklahoma   ATS Pick: Oklahoma State (+11.5)   Bonus: Over (77)

 

SEC Championship – #15 Florida vs. #1 Alabama, Saturday, 4:00 PM (CBS)

An undefeated regular season and conference title are on the line here for Alabama. It is a forgone conclusion that the current #1 Tide are a lock for the playoffs, but there is enough here for them to not treat this as a throwaway game (it’s weird I’m even typing that sentence). Florida is a tough team, but they are no match for this Alabama team, who has been head and shoulders above the competition this season.

The Tide has the best defense in the country and an explosive offense; both have been nightmares for opposing teams all year. Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has been impressive at the helm this year, leads the way for Alabama. Hurts is not your typical Alabama quarterback either. He is a dual-threat that makes this offense incredibly difficult to gameplan against for opposing defensive coordinators. This freshman phenom has thrown for 2,454 yards and 21 touchdowns while adding 840 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Look for Alabama to make a resounding statement in this game to the rest of the playoff teams. The Tide should roll once again in this game.

Game Pick: Alabama           ATS Pick: Alabama (-24.5)

Have a great weekend everyone! I’ll be back on Monday with my reactions to another huge weekend in sports. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.